Do The Secret Bush Memos Amount to Treason?
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Do The Secret Bush Memos Amount to Treason?
Do the Secret Bush Memos Amount to Treason? Top Constitutional Scholar Says Yes
By Naomi Wolf, AlterNet. Posted March 25, 2009.
Legal expert Michael Ratner calls the legal arguments made in the infamous Yoo memos, "Fuhrer's law."
In early March, more shocking details emerged about George W. Bush legal counsel John Yoo's memos outlining the destruction of the republic.
The memos lay the legal groundwork for the president to send the military to wage war against U.S. citizens; take them from their homes to Navy brigs without trial and keep them forever; close down the First Amendment; and invade whatever country he chooses without regard to any treaty or objection by Congress.
It was as if Milton's Satan had a law degree and was establishing within the borders of the United States the architecture of hell.
I thought this was -- and is -- certainly one of the biggest stories of our lifetime, making the petty burglary of Watergate -- which scandalized the nation -- seem like playground antics. It is newsworthy too with the groundswell of support for prosecutions of Bush/Cheney crimes and recent actions such as Canadian attorneys mobilizing to arrest Bush if he visits their country.
The memos are a confession. The memos could not be clearer: This was the legal groundwork of an attempted coup. I expected massive front page headlines from the revelation that these memos exited. Almost nothing. I was shocked.
As a non-lawyer, was I completely off base in my reading of what this meant, I wondered? Was I hallucinating?
Astonished, I sought a reality check -- and a formal legal read -- from one of the nation's top constitutional scholars (and most steadfast patriots), Michael Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights, which has been at the forefront of defending the detainees and our own liberties.
Here is our conversation:
Naomi Wolf: Michael, can you explain to a layperson what the Yoo memos actually mean?'
Michael Ratner: What they mean is that your book looks moderate in respect to those issues now. This -- what is in the memos -- is law by fiat.
I call it "Fuhrer's law." What those memos lay out means the end of the system of checks and balances in this country. It means the end of the system in which the courts, legislature and executive each had a function and they could check each other.
What the memos set out is a system in which the president's word is law, and Yoo is very clear about that: the president's word is not only law according to these memos, but no law or constitutional right or treaty can restrict the president's authority.
What Yoo says is that the president's authority as commander in chief in the so-called war on terror is not bound by any law passed by Congress, any treaty, or the protections of free speech, due process and the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. The First, Fourth and Fifth amendments -- gone.
What this actually means is that the president can order the military to operate in the U.S. and to operate without constitutional restrictions. They -- the military -- can pick you or me up in the U.S. for any reason and without any legal process. They would not have any restrictions on entering your house to search it, or to seize you. They can put you into a brig without any due process or going to court. (That's the Fourth and Fifth amendments.)
The military can disregard the Posse Comitatus law, which restricts the military from acting as police in the the United States. And the president can, in the name of wartime restrictions, limit free speech. There it is in black and white: we are looking at one-person rule without any checks and balances -- a lawless state. Law by fiat.
Who has suspended the law this way in the past? It is like a Caesar's law in Rome; a Mussolini's law in Italy; a Fuhrer's law in Germany; a Stalin's law in the Soviet Union. It is right down the line. It is enforcing the will of the dictator through the military.
By Naomi Wolf, AlterNet. Posted March 25, 2009.
Legal expert Michael Ratner calls the legal arguments made in the infamous Yoo memos, "Fuhrer's law."
In early March, more shocking details emerged about George W. Bush legal counsel John Yoo's memos outlining the destruction of the republic.
The memos lay the legal groundwork for the president to send the military to wage war against U.S. citizens; take them from their homes to Navy brigs without trial and keep them forever; close down the First Amendment; and invade whatever country he chooses without regard to any treaty or objection by Congress.
It was as if Milton's Satan had a law degree and was establishing within the borders of the United States the architecture of hell.
I thought this was -- and is -- certainly one of the biggest stories of our lifetime, making the petty burglary of Watergate -- which scandalized the nation -- seem like playground antics. It is newsworthy too with the groundswell of support for prosecutions of Bush/Cheney crimes and recent actions such as Canadian attorneys mobilizing to arrest Bush if he visits their country.
The memos are a confession. The memos could not be clearer: This was the legal groundwork of an attempted coup. I expected massive front page headlines from the revelation that these memos exited. Almost nothing. I was shocked.
As a non-lawyer, was I completely off base in my reading of what this meant, I wondered? Was I hallucinating?
Astonished, I sought a reality check -- and a formal legal read -- from one of the nation's top constitutional scholars (and most steadfast patriots), Michael Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights, which has been at the forefront of defending the detainees and our own liberties.
Here is our conversation:
Naomi Wolf: Michael, can you explain to a layperson what the Yoo memos actually mean?'
Michael Ratner: What they mean is that your book looks moderate in respect to those issues now. This -- what is in the memos -- is law by fiat.
I call it "Fuhrer's law." What those memos lay out means the end of the system of checks and balances in this country. It means the end of the system in which the courts, legislature and executive each had a function and they could check each other.
What the memos set out is a system in which the president's word is law, and Yoo is very clear about that: the president's word is not only law according to these memos, but no law or constitutional right or treaty can restrict the president's authority.
What Yoo says is that the president's authority as commander in chief in the so-called war on terror is not bound by any law passed by Congress, any treaty, or the protections of free speech, due process and the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. The First, Fourth and Fifth amendments -- gone.
What this actually means is that the president can order the military to operate in the U.S. and to operate without constitutional restrictions. They -- the military -- can pick you or me up in the U.S. for any reason and without any legal process. They would not have any restrictions on entering your house to search it, or to seize you. They can put you into a brig without any due process or going to court. (That's the Fourth and Fifth amendments.)
The military can disregard the Posse Comitatus law, which restricts the military from acting as police in the the United States. And the president can, in the name of wartime restrictions, limit free speech. There it is in black and white: we are looking at one-person rule without any checks and balances -- a lawless state. Law by fiat.
Who has suspended the law this way in the past? It is like a Caesar's law in Rome; a Mussolini's law in Italy; a Fuhrer's law in Germany; a Stalin's law in the Soviet Union. It is right down the line. It is enforcing the will of the dictator through the military.
And here is an article where the documents are explained more in-depth.
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Any time someone on here posts something negative about Obama, people reply in droves about how terrible he is. But if you post something about how Bush was literally designing the destruction of our entire system and setting the stage for dictatorship, suddenly everyone is quiet.
Interesting.
Interesting.
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Any time someone on here posts something negative about Obama, people reply in droves about how terrible he is. But if you post something about how Bush was literally designing the destruction of our entire system and setting the stage for dictatorship, suddenly everyone is quiet.
Interesting.
Interesting.
It's not trendy to point out who used to ignore the constitution. It's only cool to point out how the current president is the new Hitler, Stalin, or Lex Luther.
Bush is old news and it's much more fun now to sarcastically insert the words "hope" and "change" whenever possible.
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It's not trendy to point out who used to ignore the constitution. It's only cool to point out how the current president is the new Hitler, Stalin, or Lex Luther.
Bush is old news and it's much more fun now to sarcastically insert the words "hope" and "change" whenever possible.
Bush has laid out the framework of American Fascism for all future presidents if they so choose to build on it.
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I can almost guarantee that a majority of the people here who are hyper-critical of Obama for fear of "destroying the Republic" never once uttered a single grunt of objection to Bush's literal destruction of the Republic.
Bush has laid out the framework of American Fascism for all future presidents if they so choose to build on it.
Bush has laid out the framework of American Fascism for all future presidents if they so choose to build on it.
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GW used 9/11 to expand the the executive branch.
Barry is using the financial "crisis" to expand the executive branch.
Both are wrong, but since I haven't perfected time travel (yet), I can only do something about current events.
Barry is using the financial "crisis" to expand the executive branch.
Both are wrong, but since I haven't perfected time travel (yet), I can only do something about current events.
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memo =/= law, legislature, ammendment, etc...
these memos are an interpretation of the laws as written. where's the treason there?
was any action taken based on the info presented in these memo's?
also, citing the huffington post as a legitimate news source is about as bad as citing michaelsavage.com as a legitimate source.
these memos are an interpretation of the laws as written. where's the treason there?
was any action taken based on the info presented in these memo's?
also, citing the huffington post as a legitimate news source is about as bad as citing michaelsavage.com as a legitimate source.
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memo =/= law, legislature, ammendment, etc...
these memos are an interpretation of the laws as written. where's the treason there?
was any action taken based on the info presented in these memo's?
also, citing the huffington post as a legitimate news source is about as bad as citing michaelsavage.com as a legitimate source.
these memos are an interpretation of the laws as written. where's the treason there?
was any action taken based on the info presented in these memo's?
also, citing the huffington post as a legitimate news source is about as bad as citing michaelsavage.com as a legitimate source.
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I found this interesting:
This pretty much limits what is considered treason in the USA.
BTW, my source was a wiki entry...is that legit?
To avoid the abuses of the English law (including executions by Henry VIII of those who criticized his repeated marriages), treason was specifically defined in the United States Constitution, the only crime so defined. Article III Section 3 delineates treason as follows:
Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.
The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.
Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.
The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.
BTW, my source was a wiki entry...is that legit?
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Ever heard of the U.S.A. PATRIOT Act? The entire Bush presidency was a series of actions taken to expand government power and control.
I believe no single news source; if multiple news sources tell the same basic story, then I believe it a little more.
Last edited by saqwarrior; 03-27-2009 at 06:57 PM.
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